Life Lately: Something To Look Forward To

Well, here we are at the end of the third quarter staring down fall and my favorite 3 months of the year. Part of me is just as amazed as everyone else at how quickly this year has gone by, but mostly I’m just happy I survived another desert summer. For all those summer worshipers who hate me for saying yay to autumn know this – it has taken 7 years of perpetual summer to make me truly appreciate winter. Wherever I go next, there will be more seasonal variation than warm, hot, and head-in-the-oven hot. (smile)

Things have been quiet around here because they haven’t been so quiet “in real life.” Work has hit new lows and the stress new highs. I’ve had to admit some hard truths, but I think the hardest has been that FM fog/fatigue is real. Sometimes that voice in the back of my head accuses me of using it as an excuse, but as this latest round has proven, that’s not the case. Usually I can coax myself out of bed and into the familiar morning routine fairly easily, and once I get moving I’m like the proverbial rolling stone on a smooth-ish hill. (smile) Lately, it’s felt more like pushing myself uphill the whole day, which is exhausting in and of itself.

At work, we’ve had 2 people leave in the last 2 months. If that doesn’t sound like much consider this: we have had an office of 8 people. In the last 5+ years prior to this round of departures, we’ve only had 1 other person leave. The fact that these 2 were our main admin people leaves a huge gap that someone has to fill. Normally these duties would be split between myself and another co-worker, but that co-worker was just diagnosed with and had surgery for breast cancer. With her out, I’m doing my job + the admin jobs + her job. It all equals out to chaos and long hours.

Oh and that co-worker, she just happens to be one of my best friends. She’s also one of the most genuine and positive people I’ve ever met. I know this isn’t a universal truth, but I’ve always wondered why it’s the good ones that seem to suffer the worst. Luckily, after the tumor was removed, we found out that it’s a very rare type of breast cancer that (miracle of miracles) is generally very successfully treatable and with a low recurrence rate. She’ll be in treatment for a while, but it shouldn’t be too bad. Certainly it won’t be as bad as it might’ve been. I’m not sure what the lesson was in this one; but I’ve been trying to be the positive for her that she’s always been for me. Amusingly enough, that takes way more effort than one might think – it’s clearly not my natural inclination. (smile)

Speaking of lessons, I keep having dreams about not having my homework assignments finished. Some people dream of being back in high school naked; I dream of forgetting that English essay that may or may not be due that day. Ha! I can only think this is somehow related to the studying I’ve been doing for my PMP. I’ll definitely be glad when the whole process is finished!

But the title of this post is something to look forward to – the future, not the past. The immediate future is one of hope, determination, and travel. The hope and determination are mostly to do with good health and finishing this damn PMP certification.

The travel, however, is pure fun. (smile) Next weekend I’m headed to California for my niece’s first birthday (!!!). Next month I’m headed to Morocco for a week-long photography tour (yep, it’s plane-tickets-booked official!). November will see my 83 year old grandmother flying to Phoenix so we can finally check the Grand Canyon off her bucket list (oh and my birthday!). Then it’s December; a time for family and gearing up to start a new year.

In between all those big occasions are the small moments that make up life. Outdoor happy hours and brunch dates with friends; turning the a/c off and opening the windows; hunting for fall foliage (it does exist here in AZ, you just have to find it); weekend hikes (now that I’m finally cleared to go again); and pumpkin-flavored baking. It will be a good fourth quarter indeed. (smile)

I’m so glad to hear your friend has a good chance of treating and beating her cancer. That is good news indeed. I can imagine how hard it must be at work lately. I think during times like this the best we can do is just take it one day at a time and try not to be too hard on ourselves if things happen to get missed.
Now your travel plans sound very exciting! California is great and I can’t wait to see your photos from Morocco. That’s definitely on my list of places to see one day.
I am right there with you on looking for a place that actually has seasons. Autumn is my favourite season by far. Hopefully it’ll arrive sooner than later here in Texas too. 🙂

Thanks for the kind thoughts. You are so right about the one-day-at-a-time mentality. It’s so easy to get caught up in the whirlwind and forget.
I’m excited about traveling and being on the move again. I’m definitely excited about seeing Morocco and dipping a toe into a new continent! Plus I figure I should have a definite advantage in terms of being prepared for the climate. Lol 😃
Does Texas have much of an autumn/seasons in general? I’ve been looking at jobs around the state, but have to admit the weather is a factor in that possibility.